TOY
by Izumi Orimoto
Summary: For the first time, Kouji stood up and looked at a girl with a decent expression. Zoe backed a bit as Kouji took a step closer to her,feeling a bit scared by his unpredictable attitude, she gulped a bit, feeling detached from reality when he brought his h
1. Oblivious Dreams

Hey thank you for stopping by to check out my second kozumi fanfic. I hope you'll enjoy my story and come back and read the second chapter. Oh and by the way, please send me a review to tell me what you think about it please.

A faded childhood memory flashed brightly in Zoe's dream. She couldn't make out most of the events in it, yet she was able to see a little boy, not more than the age of six. His name was Kouichi, and at the background of the scene, she could hear the laughters and screamings of children. This must be the place where I used to attend Kindergarden, she thought dizzily. The little boy placed a moon-shaped necklace gently onto the palm of a little blonde girl.

"Zoe," he began, holding onto her hands. "Promise me that seven years later when I return back to Japan, you will be my girlfriend."

The little blonde girl blinked innocently, oblivious to what he was saying. "But I am your girlfriend, I'm a gilr, and I'm your friend."

Kouichi smiled, "The next time you see me, I'll be as tall as my mommy. And I will wait patiently for seven years. Till that day comes, you'll know what I mean."

Zoe reluctantly opened her eyes to see the sunlights that penetrated through the big glass window, which covered her entire ceiling. She had always been very fond of it; during the morning, she could see the blue sky and warm sunlight welcoming her to her brand new day; during night, she could see the beautiful stars without standing up but just lying on her own bed.

"What a weird dream," she told herself, "I almost forgot about Kouichi's promise seven years ago!"

Yes, Kouichi was Zoe's best friend since the first day they met in kindergarden. They shared a lot in common and quickly became friends. However, the mere thought about love was upseting her, and she was certain. She stared at the necklace that was given to her by Kouichi, and then cocked her eyebrow.

"I never wanted this to happen." Zoe thought, sitting on her bed, lifting the necklace high above her head. "I can only love you as a friend."

Kouji was eating breakfast with his father. Although he loved blueberry pancakes, today they tasted like sponge dipped in lemon dishwashing soap in his mouth. He knew he was being delusional, maybe because of the fact that he was eating them with his dad, the person whom he could never forgive, and the person whom he despised ever since the day his mother died.

Mr. Minamoto took a sip at his coffee and randomly started a topic, "So, are you excited about first day of school?"

Kouji didn't reply, instead he grabbed his books and walked out of the door. "Walter?"

"Yes young master?" the housekeeper asked,

"Pick me up at four today." Kouji demanded coldly.

"Of course, young master." Walter replied relevently.

Mrs. Minamoto (Kouji's stepmother) placed an encouraging hand gently on his. "Don't worry, he's only fourteen right now, he'll get over it when he's ready to."

"Why can't he be more like Kouichi?" He sighed, "Why does he have to be so stubborn?"

"And speaking of Kouichi," she said, "He's coming back from New York tomorrow! I'm sure that he's anxious to see his friend Zoe again!"

"Kouichi and Zoe are just made for each other," he chuckled at the thought of it. "I mean, Kouichi worships the ground she steps on. Maybe, just maybe, they will get marry someday! Oh silly me! I guess I really do wish that it will happen someday!"

"Let's get onto our last Math problem," Mr.Nishiyasu, the math teacher said, "Find the standard form of the equation of a line that goes through (2.5,2) and (-4, 1.25)."

Zoe slumped down on her chair, feeling a major headache. "Why can't my very first class of the year be Geography or something? I stink at math!"

At the very moment, a harsh slam on the door frightened everyone in the class. In front of the door stood a boy, with blue eyes cold as a pack of ice, and his dark raven hair was covered by an unusual looking badana.

"You must be Kouji Minamoto," Mr. Nishiyasu said sarcastically. "You know better than to be late on the first day of school."

Kouji said nothing but walked in. Zoe looked at him, feeling awkward.

"Please take a seat and get out a sheet of paper." Mr. Nishiyasu tapped his chalk on the wooden desk impatiently.

Kouji walked up to him, staring at him with an expression that warned for danger. Out of nowhere and at the most unexpected moment, he shoved the textbooks on Mr. Nishiyasu's desk with a light swing with his arm.

"Pick those up this instant!" Mr. Nishiyasu hollered, his face reddened with fierce.

Zoe gasped, not believing what she was seeing. She'd been into a lot of schools before, but she'd never seen such a daring rebel in her life. Kouji certainly gave her the shock of her life, at least this morning.

"I'm only here to kill some times," Kouji replied sharply with no hesitation or pondering. "I am not here to let you order me around. The only thing that you are payed for is to entertain me with your boring lessons."

"GO TO THE PRINCIPAL NOW!" He belowed once more, angrier than before.

Kouji wasn't a bit scared; he kept his cool by maintaining his stoned-face expression. His eyes deepened then took out his earphone to break the tension. The loud, discordant music from the earphone could be heard loud and clear. He sauntered off into the farthest table from the board and sat down after knocking over a girl's table with his foot.

"What a jerk!" Zoe thought uneasily.

"I guess I'm not going to the office after all." Kouji replied monotonously.

He was right; just then, the bell ran and everyone got out of the classroom as quick as possible, not wanting to be involved in the situation.

That day after school, Zoe walked home with her friend Misha. They were both very pissed about the new kid for being "fresh".

"I mean, who does he think he is?" Zoe complained with contempt, "What a jerk!"

"I heard he's from a very wealthy family." Misha replied.

"I don't care if he's the son of the president or something!" Zoe insisted, "He has no rights to disrespect teachers like that!"

"Shhh!" Misha hushed Zoe. "He's walking towards us now!"

Kouji came by with a pack of boys who looked up to him as a role model. Kouji was of course standing in the middle; the music from his earphones was loud as ever. His boyish good looks somehow stood out from the crowd and caught Misha's eyes through her thick glasses. Just when Misha was daydreaming of something, she accidently got shoved onto the ground. When she pushed herself up, she realized that her vision was a blur.

"My glasses!" Misha exclaimed, "Where is it?"

Kouji looked at Misha and saw a pair of glasses on the ground. He picked it up and looked at it.

"Give it back to her!" Zoe yelled angrily.

"Give it back to me, you, you," Misha uttered weakly, "You jerk! You are a gift from hell!"

With an overwhelming fury within Kouji, he dropped the glasses on the ground and crushed it with his shoes. Zoe tightened her grips; she had never seen such a devil before. Looking at the weak Misha who cried her broken heart out, she knew she wanted to take revenge. She pulled herself to face Kouji, and stared at him intensely.

"You're gonna pay for this!" She murmured.without a second thought, she brought her fist up and punched hardly onto Kouji's face. "You jerk!"

Kouji's face went blank at what this girl was doing. He had never been hit before in his whole life, especially by a mere little woman whom he can easily take on. But he suddenly felt that he wasn't able to harm her, something about her made him puzzled. An episode of a childhood event flashed before his eyes, it was the day that he almost got hit by a car until this person came and saved him. When he looked at Zoe, he was shocked.

"That girl was the person who was in my dream," he thought, " The person who came and saved my life seven years ago. But that's impossible! She hasn't aged a bit!"

Well that's all for the first chapter. I need you guys to review it and tell me what you think of it. Well, see you later!


	2. As told by Kouichi

Hi everyone, I just want to update another chapter today because today will be the last free day of the month. Next week, I have to study my butt off for the exams! TT Anyways, for ths chapter I decided to use Kouichi as the narrator and tell the story from his point of view, who knows I might get Zoe or Kouji to be the narrator next time.

Hi, I'm Kouichi, and I'll be your narrator for this chapter of "TOY". Seriously, I don't know what t.o.y.

stands for, you might want to ask the creator of this story. Anyways, let's start this by introducing myself; I'm

Kouichi, and I'm fourteen years old. Seven years ago after my mother's death, I decided to go to New York. I t

was really my Dad's decision anyways. He said that I'm a clever boy, so I should deserve a better education.

While my brother, Kouji just stayed in Japan. He said that he hated New York, but honestly, He was just afraid

of taking airplanes. He puked everytime he went on there.

Today after I got off the airplane, I felt happy to be in Japan again. I missed my family, and I can't wait

to see Zoe again. I wondered how she'd look like seven years after my departure, but I was certain that she'd be as beautiful as ever. The odd thing was, when I got back home that day, my stepmother Kosaka couldn't stop kissing and hugging me. And the maids even decided to perform a dance for me. Oh yeah, I saw Kouji afterward when he came home from school. He had a bruise on his cheek, and he was holding onto a bag of ice to place it on his bruise.

"Kouji, what happened?" I asked, "Did you get into another fight again?"

Actually, he said nothing. All he did was mumbling to himself about cursing this girl. I kind of laughed at the thought of my tough brother being beat up by a girl. I wondered what kind of person would that girl be.

That night at dinner, my Dad asked me about my life in New York.

"Oh, it was great Dad!" I answered politely, "Kosaka, you should go there sometimes. New York has the best shopping malls ever!"

"Oh, in that case, I better order a flight ticket tonight!" Kosaka replied enthusiastically.

I knew I have to keep Kosaka away from my Dad for a little while one of these days. Trust me, a woman like Kosaka will be pretty annoying to be with. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Kosaka. She's really nice. But Dad never got his work done when she was around him.

"So Kouichi," Dad said suddenly, "Did you meet Zoe yet?"

"No, I didn't." I answered, "But I'm going to. Dad, I want to attend school in Japan from now on. Is that okay with you?"

"Oh, that'll be wonderful Kouichi!" You can be in the same class as Kouji!" Kosaka suggested.

Kouji almost choked at what Kosaka just said. Well, I was thinking about going to the same school as Zoe, but I can give if a try.

"Um, sure." I simply answered after I took a bite of the chicken.

The next day, I wore the school uniform and got onto the Limo. I told Walter that I don't want to go to school with a Limo because it'll give the students in my new school a weird impression of me. But Walter insisted that a high-classed gentleman should show his dignity by riding a Limo. I didn't want to argue with him anymore so I just got on. But I told him that I'll be taking a bus after school so he doesn't have to drive a Limo to my school again to embarrass me.

Boy, now I know why my Dad and Kosaka have to go and see the principal almost twice every week. Kouji was a real troublemaker. Today, he on purposely stepped on a puddle of mud to walk into the classroom to get the teacher go wild. And he was throwing paper balls to him all the way from the very end of the room where his desk was.

The sad thing about today was, I didn't get to see Zoe. I mean, I knew she was in the same class as me because a girl named Misha said something about Zoe Orimoto was sick today. But I guess that means I'll see her very soon and I can be in the same class as her again just like the days back in kindergarden seven years ago. I sure do miss her, and this time, I won't be afraid to make my confession to her and tell her how I patiently waited seven years for her love.

Well, that's all for this chapter. I'm sorry that this chapter was so short. But I'll write more next time. Sayonara! And don't forget to review it!


	3. So we met again

Hey you guys. I'm so sorry about not updating for few months or so. I was so freaking busy with my exams and school works. I swear the teachers in my school are evil! They still have to dump a pile of projects and tests after the exams for my classmates and I! Well, today is the day that I miraculously finished all of my projects and stuff so I decided to update once again. I hope you'll enjoy it!

"And they are to be wearing their school uniforms from now on and come to school on time or they'll be doing washrooms and cafeteria cleanings for a week." She blurted out everything that she could think off from her mind, reluctant to think of the consequences. "Teachers should be more strict on their teachings. Obviously I won't be amused that the students in this school got the second worst average for exams in the whole region."

"But Miss Naruto," her father's school secretary countered weakly. "Aren't those criteria a bit too harsh for the students to handle? I mean they are still very young you know."

"Oh they're old enough to handle these criteria!" she snapped back sharply. "Obviously, my father has been spoiling them didn't he?"

"But Miss Naruto, you don't understand!"

"I've looked through the school record, and to be honest with you, I'm vexed." Her tone became more intense as she took out the school record file and violently brought it down onto the table. "The total average can't even pass over a seventy. Not to mention that student premature pregnancies, drug-dealings and police involvements were subsequently involved in the past few years."

The secretary lowered her head and adjusted her glasses lens uncomfortably. She knew that Miss Naruto was right about Principal Naruto being too soft on the children. That's why even newspaper articles rated this school as the worst school in the entire city of Japan."

"Such incidents are extremely difficult to deal with, or to prevent." She persisted indignantly. "With Mr. Naruto's constant liver problems, his ability to pull himself together to manage everything has unfortunately reached its undesirable limit."

Miss Naruto bit her lips insensitively, pondering the situation for a while. "This school meant just about everything to my father. Now that he's at the hospital for therapy treatments, it's my job to help him out and make him proud."

"What do you propose to do now?"

She held put a small brown file with a picture of Kouji intacted on the front page. "I came across this student as I was looking through all the student profiles in the file cabinet…"

"AHHH…CHOO!" Zoe released a deep, heavy groan after she sneezed in the girl's changing room.

"You sure that you don't want to stay home for another day Zoe?" Taka asked.

"Uh-huh." Zoe answered stubbornly. "I can't afford to miss another week of school"

Rei stood up, putting one of her foot on the bench and gulped down a can of orange soda. She wiped her wet lips with her arm and started at Zoe. "Honestly Zoe, you shouldn't get yourself to be so stressed out about school. I mean the teachers her are so easy."

"Anyways, did I tell you about this new guy who came to our class while you were away?" Misha came in, trying to change the subject. "He's so cute and nice! I can't believe that he was actually Kouji's brother!"

"Hmm, really?" Taka said while looking around the changing room they're in. The girls were all busied taking showers or getting changed for their next class. "I think someone here got a little crush…"

"NO I DO NOT!" Misha defended herself at her friends' sly smirks.

"Oh come on," Rei added in, "you've been trying to flirt with him for a whole week already!"

"Well, he's really smart…and he's nice…and gentle…and." Misha hesitated.

"Well what's his name?" Zoe finally inquired.

"His name is Kou-," Misha suddenly stopped when she heard the bell rang. She jumped a bit in panic and quickly dashed out. "Oh no! I have a math test coming up right now! See ya guys!"

The girls watched Misha as she ran out of the changing room, roaming with fierce and panic.

"I guess I'm not the only one here who's getting too stressed out about school." Zoe murmured to herself.

"Have a seat, Mr. Minamoto." Ms.Naruto gestured to the chair in front of her desk

Kouji reluctantly moved himself on the chair and slumped down on the seat, resting his elbows on the arms of the chair. Something about this woman made him feel disgusted. But he was never very fond of women anyways. She was, in his opinion, a very beautiful woman. Yet there was no soul in her eyes, they were like a pack of ice concealed by her dark-rimmed glasses. Her long ebony hair was tied into a bun, not even a touch of make-up appeared on her complexion. He crossed his brows at the sight of her; something instinctively told him that he was going to hate this woman like hell.

"So tell me," she began, looking at the boy in front of her eyes. "What is your purpose of doing all these things."

He looked up at her coldly, and paused for a while. "I don't think it's any of your business, woman."

She brought her fist violently onto the table, pulling his full attention to her. "NON OF MY BUSINESS! You're the most irrelevant student I've ever met, young man!"

"Oh I'm scared," he mocked at her nonchalantly, "what are you gonna do to me now? Suspend me for saying the right thing to a woman like you?"

They caught each other's fierce glares at each other. Ms. Naruto broke off the silence with a sneer. "It's your mother isn't it?"

His scorned stare fell into a soft, despaired look. His heart skipped and his stomach launched. A harsh realization hit him hard on the face.

"I guess I was right, wasn't I, Mr. Minamoto?" she said, satisfied at her own thoughts. "Your mother, she must have been pretty futile if she let herself spoil you like that."

He grinded his teeth and clenched his fists. "What the hell are you saying about my mother."

"Why would you care?" she calmly sat down on her chair, not even feeling a bit of regret about what she just said. "I don't tolerate insults, the more rebellious you get, then the more nasty I'll get."

"Damn you," he murmured, feeling his chests heaving up and down like a spring coil. The more he looked at this woman, the more disgusted he felt.

"You are very protective about your mother," she started again, "even thought she's dead already. But it's better that she did, because I don't think any woman out there would want to see her son turning into little scum like you."

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" He hollered, a drop of tear dropped out from his deep blue eyes. He threw his hand on a document that was on the desk, letting it fly off the desk.

She looked at the document that landed on the marble floor, and stared sternly at him. "If I was you mother, I would be really, really disappointed in you. But then again, I would be much tougher on you than her. At least I won't die and leave my son so that he'll become a useless person."

His face was glowing with fury; he kicked off from the armchair darted out.

"Ms. Naruto!" the secretary said softly, "I don't think insulting him like that is a very good idea."

"Oh really?" she smiled slyly. "Don't worry, I have my ways with kids like him. Go and get me a cup of coffee, and while you're at it, call up the securities. I'm expecting some exciting events today."

Kouji swiftly locked the door and deserted himself in the darkness of the abandoned janitor's room. He leaned against the wall and slowly shifted his back all the way down onto the floor. A drop of tear fell down onto his blushing cheeks, he blinked his eyes to get rid of his blurred vision from the tears and rolled around to sit on the ground.

"Mother," he spoke softly under his breath. "Life sucks without you."

A delicate sob broke the silent atmosphere; he hugged his knees together and buried his face in his arms. From the soft whimpering of the air, an unspeakable event bloomed in his mind; it was a normal day, just like any other days of his life, yet the most traumatic event took place that torn his heart into pieces…

He took out his harmonica and started to blow every note that conveyed his feelings into it. The harsh memories stirred up discomforts and pains in his mind. A clip of the tragic episodes flashed in his head; a tire screeched violently on the highway, a harsh tumbling sound from the car, and _thump_! A lifeless, bloody body lay across the road, her hand rested faintly on his face, breathing in the last ounce of air. His eyes widen, a sudden phase that took his voice away from screaming in fear. She smiled weakly at her beautiful little boy, and whispered her last sentence that he was never able to hear. She closed her eyes, tears rolled down from his tender cheeks, mixing with her blood that stained on his face…"MOTHER!"

"Mother," he spoke again. "Why the hell do you have to save me? I didn't even get to say sorry to you."

He took out a sharp blade from his pocket, and grasped it tightly in his hand, letting the flow of blood that came out from his hand to comfort his sobs. A sudden spur of energy gave him the strength to stand up again.

"That woman's gonna pay for what she said about you."

It was a beautiful day in the school's park, yet Zoe was not even a bit contented. She held up her math test result high up in the air, covering the sunlight from her view so her paper would become a pitched black shadow in her eyes. She felt a bit relieved, knowing that she doesn't have to see the forty-nine point five percent on the sheet.

"Man," she muttered under her breath, "I'm so screwed for math."

"Zoe!" a voice came in from the distance. She rolled up from the lush grass and put her hand in front of her face to shield the sunlight.

"Misha?"

Misha stood in front of her; bending down her knees a little to catch her breath. "I think someone set up a bunch of little decorations in the school hallways while we were at our third period class! Oh, they're really pretty, come in and see!"

"Decorations?" Zoe said, " It's not even Christmas yet."

She went in with Misha anyways and she was astounded by all the colourful little beads that were hung everywhere in the school hallway. Everyone gathered around and started to chat away about the decorations.

"I don't get it," Mr. Omaru, the leader of the school decorating team said, "I've never told any of them to put up these decorations. Alright, who's responsible for doing all these?"

The whole hall fell into silence, everyone speechlessly looked at each other.

"We don't know, Mr.Omaru. Honest." A student spoke up from the crowd, and everyone nodded agreeably.

He sighed and clapped his hands to stop the chattering from the students. "Alright, come on, help me take off all these beads."

Just as everyone laid their hands on the beads, someone pressed a little button and all the beads exploded into sparks of fire, generating loud, horrendous sounds throughout the hall. All the students screamed and ran as quick as their legs could carry them. Just then, the smoke came from the beads triggered all the fire alarms, sending cold shower of water that chilled down their spines. The hall had gone from a peaceful property into a sudden range of madness, everyone won't stop screaming. With the aiding from the fire alarms and the explosions, a loud, ear-screeching sound could be heard from miles away. A sudden fury came over Zoe; the tight crowd of panicking students almost suffocated her.

"This is awful! Who the hell set up such a disgusting prank!" She thought angrily to herself. " Aeehhh! I have to get help!"

She tried her best to push through the crowd and felt a gratifying sensation as she laid her hand onto a doorknob…

Kouichi placed a bandage gently onto his bleeding fingers that accidentally got cut from the kitchen knife. He groaned a little at his wound. He was in the nurse room, just as the bell rang after the third period class. He took off his sweaty shirt and threw it onto the nurse room's bed and sat on there.

"I knew covering up for Kouji was a bad idea." He sighed in regret.

A couple of days ago, Kouji played a prank on the language teacher by putting maggots into her hot chocolate. It was absolutely nauseating watching her gulping down the hot chocolate, thinking that the maggots were marshmallows and was sent to the hospitals for treatments afterward. The saddest part was he decided to help Kouji by committing that he did it instead. Because Kouichi was recognized as a model-student, his punishment was set off to be lighter; he was to help out in the school kitchen for three hours a day.

He got a piece of towel to wipe off his hair that was full of sweats. Just then, he heard someone struggling to open the door, and remembered that he locked the door after coming in. He jumped off from the bed and unlocked it. The door was quickly opened; the blaring and screams from the hall came into the quiet nursing room. He jumped and covered his ears.

"WHAT THE-," Kouichi broke off as he was sent off into the air and landed on cold, hard ground when a wet body ran in and crashed into him.

"I'm so sorry!" a voice came in as he opened his eyes and caught a pair of beautiful emerald eyes. He blushed and a sudden realization knocked him on the head.

"Zoe!"

"Kouichi?"

Well, that's it for now! I really gotta go back to do my summatives now, see ya next time! And I promise you that the Kouji and Zoe evidence is gonna come soon! Don't miss it, 'cause it's gonna be cute!


	4. A love under the rainbow

Hello, thank you for sending me reviews for my previous chapter. You don't know how happy I am to read your reviews, so send me more please, so I can write more and be happier! Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

The sirens from the police cars blared hollowly across the school field ten minutes after the school catastrophe. The news reporters came in afterwards, swarming with questions and perplexities.

" I'm so sorry." The secretary apologized, trying to shield her eyes from all the camera flashes. "Ms. Naruto is unavailable right now for interviews. Would all of you please leave this instant."

"Wait," a reporter shouted across the tight-packed crowd, holding a microphone straightly across her. "Is it true that Ms. Naruto already called in the school securities thirty minutes before the incident happened. Does that mean she already expected this or maybe, she knew who did it?"

The secretary stared at the crowd, suddenly stunned into silence by the question. She hesitated for a second and replied sternly. "All of your questions will have to be answered soon after Ms. Naruto arrives."

Meanwhile, the students were all in the school resting rooms, putting towels on their heads to dry themselves. They were all vexed by the calamity, and were discussing about it.

" Who the hell pulled out such a crude joke on us?" Taka implored angrily, clutching her grip on a can of pop. Her bright, red hair was red and fiery as ever.

Misha moaned gravely to herself and held up her skirt. "My skirt is ruined, and it costs me my whole month of allowance!"

"Hey, does anyone know where Zoe is?" Misato suddenly brought up the subject as she looked across the room to find no signs of Zoe. "She's been gone ever since the explosion happened."

All of them readily consented. "I know, and I swear she was there when the accident occurred."

Zoe on the other hand, was in the nursing room at this moment. A mix of sorrow and happiness crossed her mind. She was too troubled to confront the fact that her somewhat "childhood sweetheart" that she never had feelings for came back to haunt her. Further more, she was glad that her childhood best friend came back to her life. She studied him closely after seven years of departure and became conscious of how much he had grown. His light, baby-blue eyes were now dark and warm, his jet-black hair was as dark and moody as ever.

He was helping her by drying her hair with a towel. "So how are you? I…couldn't stop thinking about you all these years and well, what I really need to tell you is that I-,"

His sentence was broke off when they met each other's eyes. Tears swelled up her bright, emerald eyes. All of the bright and innocent memories flooded back into her mind, how happy those days were and how much she had longed for those moments to come into her life again. She gently rested her head on his shoulder and placed her arms around his back. "I'm just glad that you're back," she whispered silently. His heart skipped a beat as her breath from her whispers travelled down to his neck. He blushed a little and was too, grasping her within his arms.

Kouji quickly put the remote control back into his backpack after he heard the blaring of the sirens. Just as he opened the janitor's closet and planning to make a run for it, he abruptly slammed himself onto a hard body. He pushed himself off the ground and looked up to see a huge guy with a tough looking face staring unsympathetically at him.

Ms. Naruto came out behind the big guy and smirked cruelly at him. "Do you really think that you'll get away with vandalizing the school like this? You are sick beyond compare Mr. Minamoto, for pulling out such a crude joke to satisfy your frustrations."

Kouji felt offended by her word yet deeply, he couldn't have agreed more. His face flushed with resentment and regret. He wanted to just crawl back into his little hideout in the janitor's closet and burst into tears. The big guy, which was supposedly the school security grabbed him by the arms and pulled him away from Ms.Naruto just when he wanted to make an attack on her.

"Take him to the police outside right now." She instructed, "and let everyone in school see who's the despicable little fiend that created this loathsome prank of his."

It was the most depressing and humiliated day of his life. He had never felt so bad before. Everyone looked at him with scorn, the news cameras won't stop flashing in his eyes and his family was later on, called to the police station.

"Sir, what's going on? Why are you taking my son here?" Mr.Minamoto ask with concerns.

"I'm sorry that I have to break the bad news to you," the police officer said. "Your son was sued for vandalizing the school hall with fire works and caused a lot of injuries for other students in the school."

"HE DID WHAT!" Mr.Minamoto burst into rage. He stood up from his chair and turned towards Kouji. "Explain yourself young man! Why the hell do you have to do such a thing?"

Kouji uncomfortably shifted himself from his seat and looked away. He bit his lips unnervingly to hold back the emotions that were washed upon his face. He felt the pairs of eyes that were fixed upon him, but he made no efforts to look at them.

"Well," the police officer begun, " you might as well just explain yourself young man. They pressed a lot of charges against you."

Mr. Minamoto violently pushed himself up from the chair and stormed out of the office. Kouji made no attempts to gaze at him; he simply turned away.

"Well, what are you planning to do with him sir?" Kouichi asked with uneasiness.

"We'll decide after he goes on to the court." He replied.

Kouichi looked bitterly at his own brother. "Kouji," he thought to himself, "how am I gonna help you now?"

Zoe got home, she was unaware of her surrounding; all she could think about was Kouichi. "What should I do? Am I just gonna force myself to love him?"

"Zoe!" a cheerful sound chirped out from behind. Zoe wheeled around to see Misha in her pyjamas. "Where were you today? You've disappeared right after the police came to the school this afternoon."

Zoe groaned irritably as she slumped herself on the couch and threw her book bag on the wooden floor. "Long story."

Misha giggled sweetly and slumped herself beside Zoe, "Were you somewhere alone with a boy?"

Zoe quickly straightened up from her back and shoved a cushion onto Misha's face. "Misha! Shut up! Stop being so sick! For your information, I'm still a pure virgin and I'm not planning to have it until after marriage!"

"Hey! I never said that you did it with a guy!" Misha threw a cushion back at Zoe. "Besides, you're the one who thought about it that way! And look at you, you're blushing already!"

"Am not!" Zoe insisted strongly, and then she felt the heat from her cheek. "Well, actually, I was kinda alone in the nurse room with a guy…"

"Ahhh! OH MY GOSH!" Misha screamed in astonishment, her eyes widened. "What happened?"

"Well, I was trying to push through the crowd when that incident happened. Then I found my way into the nurse room and he was there, shirtless…and I remembered that I accidentally felt and landed on him on the floor…and he helped me dried my hair…and I ended up throwing myself onto him and hugged him…and…"

"OH MY GOSH!" Misha screamed even louder. "You did it with him didn't you? Does it really hurt a lot? Was there blood on the nurse bed? Did you check that if you're pregnant or not? And did he-,"

"MISHA NAMI! I DIDN'T HAVE SEX WITH HIM!" Zoe screeched from the top of her lung.

"Well, how can I be sure that you're not lying?" Misha attempted to make her last joke before Zoe began a huge cushion fight with her on the couch. They both giggled and screamed until Mrs. Nami came into the living room, crossing her arms over her chest while frowning.

"Mrs. Nami!" Zoe exclaimed in fear. "I'll clean up this mess right now!"

"And while you're at it," Mrs.Nami said, "clean the kitchen for me will you?"

Zoe nodded obediently and scurried herself up from the couch and began picking up the cushions. She wasn't a bit vexed knowing the fact that she got used to being treated like a servant all these years by Misha's mom. Everything changed after Kouichi left and after kindergarten. Her mother died from cancer. Her farther abandoned her, leaving her to deal with a great amount of debts from gambling like crazy. Since her father was missing and she doesn't have any relatives, she was sold to Misha's family as a servant for them. Even though life was harsh for her, she still found the strength to face it and be thankful for it. She felt that she had all the blessings that she'd ever needed already, because she was blessed with such a wonderful friend like Misha who'd never treated her like a servant but as a sister.

Kouji arrived at the Judge's office with his stepmother Kosaka. He'd no idea why she brought him here, yet he had a bad feeling about this. He gave a quick glance at her, and looked away.

"What's she trying to do now?" he thought to himself.

"Kouji," Kosaka finally spoke up to break the silent atmosphere. "You know as much as I do, that you are ruining your father's reputation like that."

Kouji didn't bother to reply. He rested his head on his arms that were folded behind his neck while closing his eyes. She looked sternly at him, her lips curled into a slight smile and she sighed. "Which is why I'm going to do this. Don't blame me if you think that this is unjust, because I'm doing this for you and your father's sakes."

Kouji opened his eyes and glanced at her, he quickly held back his curiosity to ask her what she's trying to do this time again. They met each other's eyes, she grinned confidently at him. A scorned expression emerged from his face; he knew that she's up to something no good again. The office door flung open by the secretary, she flashed a bright smile to them and gestured them to enter.

"Kouji," Kosaka bent down a bit to face him eye-to-eye. "We're going to talk to Mr. Takawa, the judge who's going to be dealing with the case."

Kouji clenched his teeth with resentment; he had a pretty good idea about what she's trying to do. They both sat on the chair, facing Mr. Takawa, he smile at them. He was slightly overweighed with a face that looked very innocent and weak. Kouji watched in bewilderment as Kosaka pulled out a cheque from her purse and handed to Mr. Takawa. "Mr. Takawa, if you can help Kouji, you can keep this."

Mr.Takawa looked doubtfully at her and frowned. "I'm sorry madam, I don't accept bribes. Please take it back."

Kosaka nodded with a smile and added a few more zeros onto the cheque. This time, his greed finally deceived him by showing itself in his eyes. Kouji glared with anger and surprise, as he'd never felt so sick in his stomach before.

It was a dark, depressing, rainy afternoon in the city of Tokyo. The winds echoed hollowly across the land, prospering and flourishing the city with the coldness that could be felt within the hearts of many people during a long winter. Zoe struggled within herself to balance as the freezing rain and air tried to blow her and her umbrella away. She held the groceries tightly in her chest while pushing her way through the gusts of wind. It reminded her very much of the time when she had to push her way through the screaming crowd and ended up in the nurse room. She gave a deep sighed as the warm vapour drew out from her breath. She looked across and suddenly saw a dark figure sitting on the park bench without an umbrella.

"Who's that?" she wondered to herself as she walked toward the dark figure's direction. "Poor guy, he's gonna get a really bad cold like that."

Kouji sat silently on the bench. Raindrops violently strike on him with an immense vigour, sending chills through his spine. His body was numbed with pain, but he made no attempt to care. He despised himself, despised the way everything turned out, and most of all; he despised his family for spoiling him all these years. Why didn't his family just let him get the punishments that he deserved from vandalizing the school? He clenched his fists feeling the whiteness of his swelling knuckles, a cold breath suddenly escaped from his mouth. He abruptly looked up to see a radiant -looking figure, holding on her yellow umbrella in front of him. "Hey, are you alright?"

Zoe drew herself closer to see the scornful Kouji Minamoto in front of her. Her eyes that were once filled with concerns turned into a rage of fire. "It's you!" Her chest hauled up and down like a coiled spring as she remembered all the injuries and damages that he'd created through his unmerciful hands. For the first time, Kouji stood up and looked at a girl with a decent expression. Zoe backed a bit as Kouji took a step closer to her, he suddenly felt like that the only way that he can feel better right now is for her to punch him once again. Zoe felt a bit scared to his unpredictable attitude, she gulped a bit, feeling detached from reality as his hands gently pressed against her shoulders. He drew his cold, tender lips on her blushing cheeks and she quickly came to her senses and threw her fist right at his cheekbone; he fell back and collapsed on the hard wooden bench. Zoe gasped and was about to make an escape when he pushed himself up and pulled her hand and hauled her onto his chest. With the very last ounce of strength in her body, she fought desperately to resist his tight grasp around her. She screamed and moved violently as his arms grew tighter and tighter around her. She stopped and gave up as she heard the soft sobs that whispered out from his breath and traveled to her neck. She lost her grip on the yellow umbrella and it dropped gracefully onto a puddle of rain, sending splashes of water onto her bare knees. The sun peaked through the clouds and the rays of light shone through the gloomy sky. A beautiful streak of rainbow flew out from nowhere. By now, the sky cleared up, it was the most miraculous moment Kouji had ever felt. Tears blurred his visions and he let out a soft sob.

Zoe listened to his sobbing, knowing that he was crying. She rested her head uncomfortably and emotionlessly on his shoulder. "Kouji, you're such a freak."

Well, that's it for now! Sorry that I didn't update for so long. I was so busy with my summatives that I only slept for an hour and a half every night to finish up everything. Anyways, would all of you please send me a review? Please, I promise to make the next chapter a good one okay?


	5. Realizations

Im so sorry! I didn't update for like a month again! Or maybe even more…okay, I'm gonna start updating more now! It's just that I'm blanked out of idea sometimes, so please understand! Any who, I hope you'll like this chapter and please review!

The violent howls of the afternoon rain ceased into distilled murmurings of the surrounding wind, the birds begun to sing their melody of love in the air. It was amazing how the rainbow softly and faintly peered into the dark, gloomy sky. It brought a beautiful feeling into the street. Yet, it brought a vague feeling to her. She can still feel the stiffness of her own body against his. Overwhelmed by an uncertain feeling inside, she was only able to take notice of his deep breathing that tickled her ears. "Stop it," she said quietly, "let go of me." Her hands started to shake uncontrollably when she felt his grasp started to loosen up and his boyish sobs suddenly faded. She looked up to meet his eyes, unknowing that they have fell into each other's gazes. A pink shade of blush fell upon his pale cheeks as a sudden realization came upon him; how could have he failed to see how beautiful she actually was? He sensed his hands that lay upon her, touching the softness of her dress material, feeling the adorable curve of her waist, and the sheer touch of her radiant skin. He could hear his heart beats as he traveled his foot backward, but he was unable to pull away his gaze from her. Her head unexpectedly felt as light as a helium balloon as she looked into those blue eyes of his, his pupils widened and she could feel the warmth of her cheeks.

"What's going on here?" she thought to herself. "I can't move."

Just then, a car passed by, its metal parts chattered uneasily down the road. They broke apart their gazes and returned back from their fantasies. "Aeehhh!" Zoe exclaimed half disgusted and half surprised. "What the-," _Splash! _He angrily shoved her away from him, making her landed on a puddle of rainwater. He shook off his lusting thoughts and stared mercilessly at her.

"You bastard!" She screamed, trying to pushed herself up. "What the hell's your problem!"

He took a step backward and turned around to run off. His eyes were gloomy and soulless, yet he felt irritated by the warmth that still glowed vibrantly on his cheeks. He clenched his fists and grinded his teeth, with that, he ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. Zoe watched furiously at him as he took off, she made a high-pitched squeal to convey her fury and took off her sandal, trying to lift it up and throw it at him yet she missed the target.

Back at home, Misha sat beside her piano to wait for the return of Zoe. She began to fret knowing that Zoe had been gone for a while. She withdrew her attention to the notes on the book and looked at the big window that sat beside her, praying that Zoe will appear in the scene. Just then, she caught her eyes on a bright figure in the rain and realized it was Zoe. She ran up to the door and opened it to find Zoe standing angrily at the door; she was wet from top to bottom.

"Zoe, what happened?" she asked, trying to hold back her amused thought. "I thought you brought an umbrella with you?"

"Errrrr!" Zoe moaned in rage, kicking off her sandals and stepped in. "I don't wanna talk about it!"

"W-Well, anyways," she continued, smiling a bit. "Do you wanna get out your cello and play a little duet with me?"

Zoe shook her head and walked upstairs. "No, I wanna take a shower right now. Maybe later."

The next day at school, everything seemed to go back to normal. Zoe was at her locker when she spotted Kouji walking by at the hallway. She pouted a little at the sight of him and turned around to face her locker door. As always, he had his headphone on, blasting it at the highest volume. He looked up to catch his eyes on Zoe's distinguish hair colour and felt irritated. He crossed his eyebrows and looked away.

In the classroom, before class started, Kouichi was talking to his friends at the desk when Misha spotted him. She smiled sweetly to herself and fixed her golden brown hair a bit. She walked up to him, flashing her brilliant white teeth. "Hey Kouichi!" she said sweetly. Kouichi, who was totally oblivious to her flirting just looked at her and grinned casually to her. "What's up Misha?".

"So how was your weekend?" she asked, flaring her short uniform skirt a little.

He shrugged. "Nothing really, it was raining really bad during the weekend."

She looked away a little and came up with another topic. "Uh, well, hey, have you heard of the new movie that just came out today?"

"You mean 'Toki no Sabaku'?" he said.

"Yeah!" She chimed brightly. "You wanna go an see it?"

"Mmmm…I don't think so." He replied, "It's not my type of movie."

"What? Why not?" she whined a little in disappointment. "I'm sure it's a really good movie! Zoe and I are dying to see it ever since we saw the commercial!"

"Zoe?" he thought to himself then, he smiled. "Sure I'll go and see it!"

"Great!" she said, trying to hide the true happiness that's inside of her, thinking that she'll be going to watch the movie with him after school.

During lunch hour, Zoe met up with Kouichi at the locker area. He bent down and placed his hands on his thighs, trying to catch his breath. Zoe placed her hand on his shoulder and bent down to pat him. "Are you okay? You looked like you've been outside running for a while."

He nodded and smiled at her. Even though he did run all the way to the movie theater to buy the tickets, he knew it was worth it. He took out the tickets and showed them to her. "I got these tickets to this movie that you wanted to watch. I was wondering if you could watch it with me after school today."

She felt speechless and uncomfortable. "He's asking me out to a date?" she thought. "Oh no!"

He took her hand and placed the ticket on her hand. "Here, I'll meet you at the movie theater today. And don't be late okay?"

She reluctantly nodded and accepted the ticket. Yet, she felt her stomach twitching as if there were butterflies in there. He smiled and blushed. "I've been thinking about asking you out for a really long time. I'm just glad that…"

Zoe didn't hear any of that; she was looking at Kouji who was walking at the other far end. She felt curious about what he was doing, watching as he looked suspiciously back and forth to detect if there were anyone in the hallway. _That's strange; don't tell me he's planning to poll out another one of those scary pranks again!_ However, he just entered this room and closed the door behind him. Zoe gasped a bit and returned her eyesight back at Kouichi to find his face was drew closer to hers. She took in a deep breath, noticing the deep flush of her cheeks. She dodged herself away from his lips and laid her head on his shoulder. Kouichi smiled a bit and placed his hands on her back to pull her closer to him.

"What's Kouji up to again?" she thought deeply to herself as she rested her head on Kouichi's shoulder.

After school in the locker area, Zoe turned around after locking her locker to find Misha smiled radiantly to her. "Hey Misha!"

Misha jumped up and down happily, her face glowed with such radiance that sometimes made Zoe believed that Misha was one of the most beautiful girl she'd ever met. Misha put her hands on Zoe's wrists and grinned. "Guess what, I'm going out with someone tonight!"

"Really? Who is he?" Zoe asked excitedly.

Misha simply shook her head and smiled again, "I'll tell you when I get back home from my date with him." She dashed off without saying goodbye. Zoe looked at her and smiled, then she turned aside to take notice of that same door that Kouji went in during lunchtime. She suddenly felt the urge to go inside that door, and she knew that she couldn't resist the temptation. She wondered thoroughly to herself as she took closer and closer steps toward the door. When she finally came in front of the door, she found her heart beat viciously and felt the butterflies in her stomach. She turned the doorknob open to find that the door was unlocked the whole time. She gasped as entered the room and realized that it was an abandoned storage room. The dark room reeked with a strong dusty scent, and she was unable to see a thing from the room. "What's he doing in this room?". As she took a step closer into the dark, she heard the rattling of some kind of object. She gasped and decided to go back out, only to bump into another sharp edged object. She became more frightened than before, she held her injured right arm that got scratched by the scarp object closer to her. She breathed heavily as she resisted the pain from her arm and felt the blood that came out from it. She backed up a bit and accidentally knocked herself against the drawer, a picture frame that was above it fell and hit her on the head. A sudden shock of pain triggered her into a deep pass-out; she weakly closed her eyes as she felt herself drowning into the deep darkness.

During her pass-out, she had a dream; a weird dream indeed. She saw a little, no more than the age of six. He was adorable; his blue eyes were so charming that they looked like as if they were shimmering on his soft face. His hair was dark and vibrant underneath a chic-looking bandana. Suddenly, a vicious tire screech from a car broke the smile on his face. A woman lay silently on the lifeless road; she had blood almost everywhere on her body. He quickly ran up to her and cried. _Mother! Mother!_ Were the words that Zoe could hear, the woman smiled at her beautiful little boy. She was breathing heavily to stay awake, _Kouji, mommy will always love you. Please be strong for me. Please don't cry._ But he couldn't hear those words that came out from her mother's mouth, he wrapped his arms around the dead body, sobbing and sobbing until the siren wails from the police cars came into the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Kouji came out from Ms. Naruto's office once again. He sighed and closed his eyes. "That bitch just couldn't stop talking about how she's gonna press those damn charges on me about vandalizing the school hall way. Damn it, I don't want to see her again!"

He then remembered that he left his jacket at the abandoned storage room, which also happened to be his secret hideout. He went upstairs and found the door opened. His heart jumped a bit and he went inside the room to check out what happened. He found his jacket on the floor, there was a shoe print on it, and he then instinctively knew that someone was inside the room. He took out his knife and twisted it to reveal the sharp blade on it. He walked closer to the dark, sensing the presence of a person. Zoe finally woke up from her deep pass-out and gasped at the horrible dream that she just had. She got up from the ground, making the piles of stuff beside her rattled. Kouji ran up to the noise with his knife and jumped onto the dark figure he saw…only to realize that he stabbed Zoe with the blade. She screamed in pain at the sharp blade that was stabbed on her lower shoulder, the agony of the pain took over her strength. Kouji's eyes were wide open with shocks as he saw her fainted. He was terrified; the sight of her in pain made him felt awful, his heart was twisting with pain.

"Z-Zoe!" he quickly brought her onto his opened arms and ran out of the room.

Kouichi waited patiently outside the theater door and saw Misha walking up to him. She gave him her best smile and looked attentively at him. "Hi!"

"Oh hey Misha!" he greeted her. She looked down to see a beautiful bouquet of flowers on his hands. She smiled sweetly, thinking that the flowers were for her.

"So uh, why aren't you going in yet?" he asked, knowing that she had been standing for a while.

"I'll go in if you go in." she said with a flirtatious tone.

He chuckled and replied, "Actually, I have to wait for Zoe here."

Her face went into a deliberate shock. "Zoe? But I thought-,"

"Yeah," he interrupted, "I asked her to come with me to watch the movie. But somehow, she's late."

She looked down to hide the tears in her eyes. "Um, then I better go in now, see ya!"

"Bye!" he smiled at her as she ran pass him, oblivious to her emotions and feelings.

It was getting late, and the movie was almost over. Kouichi was still outside the front door, sitting on the staircases. The petals on the flowers started to fall out, he looked at them with a broken heart, wondering where could Zoe be.

Back at school, out from the corner of the hallway, came Kouji, holding the unconscious Zoe on his arms. He knew that if he takes her to the nurse room, Ms. Naruto will find out, and she'll probably threaten him even more. And he could be sent to the juvenile court for doing this. But he had no choice; it was the only way to save her. He couldn't care less right now, because at the moment, nothing meant more to him than her safety; he felt like that she was his responsibility. His heart ached as he looked at her, her head was resting on his chest, and her blood stained his shirt. He closed his eyes and ran as fast as he could down the staircases into the nurse room, suddenly, he accidentally ran into a person. He looked up to see Ms. Naruto, her eyes were as furious as ever; she clenched her fists and stared maliciously at him. "Kouji you little bastard, what the hell did you do this time!"

Well, that's all for now! I hope that you'll find this chapter better than the one before and I really hope that you'll send me a review. Well, ciao!


	6. Chapter 6

She paused to check the time on her left wrist while lifting up her right arm to savor the cup of coffee on her hand. This was supposed to be the most relaxing hour of the day, with all the students gone home and the documents are finally done after six hours of reorganizing them. She was standing somewhere near the staircase when someone suddenly crashed into her, making her loose her grip onto the coffee mug. It shattered onto the ground with a loud clash. She looked up long enough to meet the eyes of the young man who was in front of her. Kouji! She thought vehemently to herself. Then she traveled her gaze down onto the bloody figure that was held on his arms. "Izumi!" she murmured with bewilderment. She was stunned into silence, oblivious to how much blood a person can loose. She looked awful, with blood soaked her whole shirt and she was unconscious. Ms.Naruto quickly regained her composer and glared at him. "Kouji you little bastard, what the hell did you do this time!"

Kouji looked away with no hesitance, trying to hide his fear. He was frightened, and his face was so paled as if the blood on his face was drained out. He hauled Zoe a bit higher onto his arms and walked pass his principal. "I don't have time for this."

"Where do you think you're going?" she grabbed his sleeve with force just in time to pull back.

"Let go!" he shook off her hand with frustration. "I have to take her to the nurse room."

"It won't help her much." she retorted reasonably, her eyes were filled with concerns. "I'll have to call the ambulance over."

It was four more minutes till five and Kouichi walked up to the garbage can near the theater to throw away the dried-up bouquet that was supposed to be for Zoe. He sighed with disappointment and was about to walk back home when tiny droplets of rain hit his forehead, sending shivers down his spine. "It's raining again?" he muttered under his breath then wheeled around as someone reached out to shield him from the rain with an umbrella. "Misha?"

She smiled timidly to him, feeling queasy all over."Hey,what are you doing here?" He didn't feel like telling her about the flower bouquet part so he just said, "Oh, I'm about to go home now." As he began to walk passes her, she tagged along his side and looked warmly into his face. "Can I walk with you?"

He pondered for a second and smile as he nodded. She walked a bit closer to him and stole a quick side-way glance at him. Being beside him made her feel warm all over, she grinned sweetly to herself as she thought about that someday, maybe she can rest her head on his shoulder or holding his hand, her fantasies suddenly made her blushed. "So do you know where Zoe is?" He asked randomly, "she was supposed to come here after school."

The thought about his concerns over Zoe made her feel uneasy, as if there was a tight knot inside her stomach. Her mouth felt too dry to speak up, so she clasped her lips together to make up a smile as she shook her head. She felt bad about lying to him, but she was reluctant to inform him about Zoe's whereabout. She can't do anything but to enjoy this moment of being alone with him, that's all she wanted to care.

He looked down on the ground as she strode beside her, "I see," He started to feel a bit worried. "I called her cell but no one picked up, and I don't have her home phone number." "Actually she lives with me, you want me to call home to see if she's there?"She took out her cherry-red cell phone from her back pack.

"She lives with you? Doesn't she live with her parents or something?" He asked with curiosity, feeling awkward about asking it.

"Actually no," she spoke up softly, pushing back a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Her parents passed away a few years ago." He suddenly stopped and gazed at her with astonishment. " That's awful!" Misha looked at him innocently, partly with sympathy. "I know what you mean. At that time, she was only a little girl and she doesn't even have any relatives."

He broke into silence for a few seconds and inquired with perplexity again. "How come I never heard her mention it before? Not even when we were little?" She unexpectedly felt a jolt of jealousy, "You guys know each others since you guys were little?" He nodded, "So how did she wind up living with you and your family?" The red light at the road finally turned green, he placed a hand on her shoulder to gesture her to walk across the road. Her heart skipped a beat as he touched her shoulder, his soft touch suddenly tickled her with a warm sensation. She regained her focus on the road and continued. "Well, since my dad was a really good friend of her mom, he decided to adopt her. Beside, he loved Zoe to the last bit." "How?" He shifted his hand away from her shoulder and hooked his thumbs into his pockets. "Well, you see, Zoe's mom was my dad's biggest crush ever since he was little. And since Zoe's quite a resemblance of her mother, I guess that's why my dad adored her so much." She looked at him once again, wondering how his face could light up so radiantly. He turned to her and grinned, "Well, I'm glad she's fine now." "You still want me to call home to see if Zoe's there?" "Yeah, please. I'm kinda worried."

She reluctantly dialed the numbers, paused to lift the phone and pressed it against her ear. "Hey moms . . . yeah, I'm coming home soon . . . no, not really . . . oh come on . . . okay listen, I was wondering if Zoe's home right now . . . she's not . . . oh, okay, well do you know where she is . . . oh, k, well then me back if she's home okay . . . All right then, bye mom!" Misha turned off the phone. She bit her lips nervously, she was wrong, Zoe wasn't home after all, she doesn't even have to lie to Kouichi in the beginning. "I guess she's not home after all." He exhaled heavily. "Did she tell you that she was going somewhere after school?" She shook her head modestly, "The last time I saw her, she was at the school." "Well then, I'm going back to school to see if she's there."Somehow, from deep inside, she doesn't want him to go. So she decided to tag along. "Wait, I'm coming too."

_I guess "it" was right, escorting her to the hospital was the best way. I quickly rushed into the hospital while the paramedics rushed in with an ambulance stretcher where Zoe was. I listened as the paramedics informed the attending physicians – who seemed to be materialized out of the thin air. I was the one who injured her, but somehow, I couldn't care more. I've done all I could. "We've got a female from a weaponry assault," the paramedic breathlessly told a tall man with grey hair, supposedly the attending physician. " Her vital signs are not stable. She'll need an immediate surgery."_

_Another doctor and two nurses appeared by the stretcher and began to work on the girl. I glanced across the aisle to spot "it" with "its" arms folded across "its" chest. "It" does seem worried, it's not like "it" to be that concerned about someone. I quickly ignored "it" and looked back at what the paramedics were doing. I never ceased to be amazed at the way the people working in the ER seemed to function as a perfectly coordinated system. They hardly exchanged a word except to report immediate findings about the patient's vital signs, such as blood pressure, respiration, and temperature. _

"Volunteer!" Called out one of the medical technical standing by the stretcher. The volunteers ran over to the technician. "Take this to the blood lab. Tell them we need a rush on this blood typing. This patient's lost a lot of blood and she's going to need transfusions. We'll be in Trauma room one." The guy nodded. He was wearing these latex gloves and dressed in a burgundy shirt. He placed the vial of blood into a plastic bag identifying the contents as a biomedical hazard and rushed off to the blood lab. Ms.Naruto stole a quick glance at Kouji who was across the aisle from her. He was too distracted by what was going on, that he'd no idea that she was looking at him. "Oh God, please don't let anything happen to Izumi." She secretly murmured to herself, unable to bear the thought of having Zoe dead right in front of her eyes.

It's been years now and she was surprised that both Kouji and Zoe didn't remember her, not even after what happened that day when Kouji saw his own mother got hit by a car and passed away right in front of him. She felt twisted with sickness inside her heart at the thought of the dead body.

Kouji moved aside as the doctors and nurses surrounded the stretcher. On the count of three, they transferred Zoe onto a hospital gurney and rushed her toward one of the Trauma rooms. As they rounded the corner, he heard, "Code blue! Defib at three hundred! We're losing her! We'll have to restart her heart with an electric shock." The words hit him like a nightmare, he was frozen in shock. He could feel his skin begin to vibrate to the pounding of his heart. He wasn't prepared for this, he looked around to find the place teemed with activities. People hurried back and forth. The noise level had noticeably gone up compare to the other rooms in the hospital. It reminded him very much of the time when his mom was sent here after the car accident.

Just then, the volunteer came back from the lab, his face was paled with nervousness as he was confronted with the physician. "Well, where's the blood? We have to do the transfusion now!" The volunteer looked troubled, "This is ridiculous, but the blood lab is out of blood type O, which it's what the patient needs! I guess it's not surprising since there were so many blood transfusions done today."

Kouji stood silently then finally spoke up, "I'll donate my blood to her." The sentence startled ms.Naruto, she looked at him, the expression on his face told her that he was sincere.

"All right then, what is your blood type?" The volunteer asked.

"Mine is O, just let me help her."

The physician nodded with a grin, "Alright then, follow me to the blood lab."

She watched as Kouji went into the elevator with the volunteer and the physician, finding herself being astonished by his generosity.

The intense surgery was dismissed after a few hours, Zoe was brought out of the Trauma room, still at a state of unconsciousness. Ms.Naruto let a deep sigh of relief and was about to tell Kouji something when she realized that he left the hospital long ago. After checking on Zoe, she left the building as well.

_I hated the hospital, I hated the people there, I hated the fact that it smelled like ammonia, but most of all, I hated the memories that I've left here. My stomach felt sick as I realized that I have to visit this place once again after these long, grueling years._ _I crutched down onto the floor_ _in the waiting room during that girl's operation. The wound on my arm was hurting me like a predator tearing apart its prey, I can't breathe under that strong scent of ammonia in the building. Somehow, I felt weak after I came out from the blood lab, the doctor must have done something to me when she drew out a good portion of my blood. I stared silently in the empty room, or so I thought of as an empty room, "It" was there with me. Of course, we didn't talk to each other. I took a quick glance of "it", and somehow, the day of mother's death abruptly flooded back into my head. She was escorted into this hospital as well, and they couldn't even save her. The thought was too painful, I suddenly shot up from my position on the ground and ran off into the cold, crisp air of a silent night. _

_I didn't feel like going home, even if I know that they're probably trying to call me right now. I stayed there for a while, after I was sure that "it" left the building, I went back in there. The nurse told me that her room was number 564, so I stepped inside the door when I spotted the room number that was printed on the door. She had plastic tubes attached to her wrist and nose. I didn't give a damn about her, even if she died. Somehow, I just wanna see her holding her umbrella once again. I liked that sight of her there in the rain, when she stood in front of me, holding on that yellow umbrella. There was something about it that made me feel so warm inside. But I better not go there. My art teacher wanted me to sketch "inspiration" , the most exquisite form of beauty as she'd once said. And, I guess I've finally found one._

Well, that's it for now, sorry it's so boring and long. I promise to make the next one better. And sorry that I didn;t update for so long once again, 'cause my old computer broke down and I have to order another one all the way from America.Well, I hope I'll find you reading on my next chapter...'cause it's gonna be really cute!


	7. Red roses vs Sunflowers

The lights above her blazed severely upon her, she could feel nothing but the pain. The sharp instrument lightly touched her sensitive wound, sending shivers down her spine. She could feel herself being indulged into a displeasing dizziness; she ached to take a deep breath, but she couldn't do so.

"I can't…breathe, it hurts." Zoe thought with agony, struggling to reach out for help.

Just at the time of deep despair, a heartening voice called out to her. _Zoe, Zoe, hang in there_, the voice murmured. It was a voice of a woman. Zoe couldn't recall any memories of her, but she knew that she'd met this woman before. _Please wake up; it's not time for you to go yet…_At that moment, a vibration shook her into a deep reverie, the face of the woman appeared before her, triggering memories of the past. "I've met you in this hospital seven years ago…" Zoe replied weakly.

1Her vision blanked out of all wonders as she began to slowly open her eyes to wake up. The first person she saw was her principal, Ms. Naruto. Somehow, Zoe was frightened by the sight of her. She couldn't explain that fear, it was just as mild as a slight pain.

"Zoe, you're awake!" Misha cried out with a high-pitched voice. Zoe quickly looked around; Misha, Ms. Naruto, Kouichi, and Misha's mother were there.

"Are you alright? We were so scared when we heard that you were sent to the hospital!" Kouichi said.

Zoe nodded, and smiled. "It's okay, I'm fine."

"I guess I'll be going now." Ms. Naruto declared as she walked passed Misha, who looked at her with curiosity. Just then, Misha's father came in at the door and his eyes met with Ms.Naruto's. His bright smile ceased into a slight frown.

He nodded as in a greeting kind of way. "Miyazaki, long time no see."

Ms. Naruto nodded with a tensed look in her face. "It's been a long time, Hataro." They didn't say anything to each other and Misha's father came to Zoe's bedside table with a bouquet of flowers. "Zoe! What happened?"

Zoe suddenly felt relieved that Ms. Naruto left the room and she continued to talk to her friends and family.

In a while, the room was silent after everyone went home except for Misha. She unwrapped the bouquet of flowers and put them on a glass vase. "Hey Zoe look, aren't these roses just beautiful?"

She took out another bouquet and was admired by the beauty of the red roses. "Who's it from?" Misha flipped over that card that was attached to the paper wrap, it was from Kouichi. Her stomach launched and once again, the uneasy feeling came back to her. "Zoe,"

Zoe looked up at Misha, "Yeah Misha?"

Misha's throat suddenly felt dry, she pressed her lips together before saying anything. "Do you like Kouichi?"

Zoe found the question a bit too odd to answer, "Why you ask?"

Misha didn't want to tell Zoe that she took a fancy in him, so she shrugged. " 'Cause I'm curious. It seems like he likes you and—"

Zoe's lips twitched into solemnity. "I liked him a lot in a friend kind of way, but he's not my cup of tea."

Misha blinked with oblivion. Zoe continued, "He's a great guy and all, but he's my best friend. And I don't feel that 'magic' when I'm with him."

Misha giggle, suddenly feeling a bit better. 'Then what is that 'magic' you're talking about?"

Zoe shrugged, "I haven't felt it yet, so I'm not sure."

Somehow, Zoe felt like she was lying to her. Maybe she did experience that 'magic' before, like that vague moment at rain storm when Kouji grasped her so tight in his arms for no reason. She felt herself shivered at the thought of him. But at the same time, she was curious about him.

The following days she spent in the hospital were more lonesome and serene than she perceived; she was desperate to escape from there. However one day, just when she thought it was going to be another dreary afternoon, a nurse arrived in her room with a bouquet of sunflowers.

"I believe these flowers were sent to you just a few minutes ago." The nurse replied, her face sparkled with delight. "Too bad I didn't get to see who that person was."

For once, her face uplifted with a glow of sunshine; tears abruptly welled up in her emerald eyes. She was astounded by how happy they made her feel. Somehow, they were different from the red roses that Kouichi had sent her everyday; there was something mystifying about sunflowers that took the fancy in her more than any flowers.

"Who's it from?" Zoe asked eagerly.

"Oh I don't know," the nurse said, "But I think these flowers were bought from the flower shop right across the street."

She looked at the sunflowers with rapture; they flushed radiantly like stars in the twilight. Ever since that afternoon, she received a dozen of them every single day during the afternoon, whereas the red roses from Kouichi were sent everyday during the morning.

"Who are they from?" Zoe questioned herself, desiring for an answer.

As soon as the doctor granted her the permission to go home, she went and visited the flower shop.

"I was wondering if you can tell me who bought sunflowers from your store during these past few weeks." was Zoe's first sentence that leapt into her mind.

"Oh you mean that young man who came here for a dozen of sunflowers everyday." The shop owner replied pleasantly.

Zoe nodded, feeling her heart skipped a beat knowing that they were from a male. "Do you know the name of that person?"

"Well now, he didn't say." She smiled, "But I remembered that he paid with his credit card once so I have his address with me. Would you like me to give you his address?"

"Um, sure." she answered with interest.

After receiving the address, she decided to pay a visit there since it was only a few blocks away from where she was. She looked at the address that was written on the yellow slip paper, feeling a bit disappointed. The flowers must have been from Kouichi, because the address led her to the Minamoto's residence.

"Well, you can sit here to wait for my young master to come back, Miss Orimoto." the butler declared grimly and left Zoe alone in the living room.

Zoe's eyes roved side to side, dumbfounded, this place hadn't changed a bit ever since the last time she visited it seven years ago. The place looked as elegant and sophisticated as ever with the white velvet curtains and the youthful, evergreen garden where she often used to play hide-and-seek with Kouichi. The sweet and subtle memories flown back to her as she drifted into her own reverie. She smiled gently to herself as she unknowingly got up from the sofa and danced around in the room just like she used to. The cheerful music played by a piano could be heard inside her mind; she maneuvered her body to the rhythm of the melody and hummed sweetly to herself. She glided up the grand staircase like a princess and continued to dance some more, she hadn't felt so happy for years…it was the childhood memories that have suddenly made her overflowed with joy…it was the mild scent of this place…it was…_CRASH_!

Zoe was snapped back into reality as she realized the enormous flower vase that was severely fractured right before her eyes; she knew that she'd unintentionally knocked it down. She gasped in fear and felt her face flustered. She looked around the hall, feeling relieved that nobody had became aware of her.

Right beside her, there was a door, leading to another chamber in mansion. Zoe quickly collected the pieces of the dented vase and went in. It was a bedroom that she'd never been in. The room displayed the theme colour of navy blue through the bed spread and sofa. The whole place resided a strong notification of a masculine scent.

"I've never been in here before," she murmured to herself.

She piled the broken pieces inside a closet and closed its door behind her. Just then, she heard the heavy foot steps of someone approaching the room; she squirmed off into the closet chamber behind the big sofa. The foot steps became louder as they came into the room, her heart was racing frantically.

The person opened the closet and the pieces of the broken vase tumbled down before him, he groaned in anger. Zoe felt intoxicated by her fear; it was unbearable, and humiliating. As she looked around the closet, the clothes inside it suddenly resembled something that she remembered. Her stomach coiled up into a tight knot as she realized who these clothes belong to, just then, an assertive arm grasped her shirt collar and pulled her out from her hidden place. She remembered catching a glimpse of Kouji's dark blue eyes before he lifted up his fist towards her. She tightened her grip on his shirt as she screamed; Kouji came to his senses to realize that it was girl and suddenly wrenched his fist diagonally so that it slammed on the wall right behind her. She breathed in a choked voice in relief, her heart thumped to the encounter of him.

Okay, I really have to stop here, but please make sure to read the next chapter okay; it's going to be really interesting! Well, better get back to my homework, and I promise that I'll update this weekend! Well, bye for now!


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